The next few months will be known to many as tax season.
But Palos Park Police Commissioner Dan Polk knows it as another season.
Scam season.
Polk said at the Jan. 13 village council meeting that phone and email scammers are getting more sophisticated about impersonating the Internal Revenue Service.
“The IRS is too busy to call you and talk to you about your taxes, period, so if you’re getting a call about your taxes, it ain’t the IRS,” Polk said.
“You can no longer trust caller ID. It’s very easy to change where it shows up on your phone to a number that resembles an IRS number.”
Polk added that the IRS is not going to arrest people because they didn’t pay a fine or other reasons.
“They don’t want to arrest you because then you can’t pay the fine,” he said. “The IRS does not accept payment via prepaid Visa cards, iTunes cards, PayPal cards or Amazon cards. They want your check.”
Scammers also tell people they are due a refund and direct them to a website that appears to be a legitimate IRS site. Polk warns about that as well.
“The sites are designed to take your information, and it has active web pages and forms that are similar to IRS forms,” Polk said. “These sites and forms have been modified to request details of personal and financial information.
“Once this information is collected, it can be used to steal your identity as well as your financial assets.”
Polk said the IRS does not send out unsolicited e-mails or ask for detailed personal information.
“It doesn’t ask people for their pin number, their password or any other access information for their credit cards, bank or any other financial accounts,” Polk said, “The IRS uses the mail. If they are going to notify you regarding any tax matter, they won’t phone you at night or text you.
“Just be careful.”
Other items
- The council approved the fifth and final payment of $29,394 to Bensenville-based Lindahl Bros. Inc. for the 2024 roadway project.
- The council awarded a $22,013 bid to Big Tent Events of Carol Stream to provide tents, flooring, lights and staging for the Autumn in the Park Festival, which takes place Sept. 19-20 and is one of the biggest events in the village.
